Dropping In
by Green Girl Forever
Summary: After becoming the Wicked Witch of the West Elphaba has found refuge in an abandoned house. While repairing the broken roof and unexpected and very strange guests falls through. Has Elphaba finally found a friend stranger than her?
1. Unexpected guest

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Wicked or any of its characters

**Rating: **K

**Author's Note (PLEASE READ):** This story is based shortly after Elphaba becomes the Wicked Witch of the West and starts saving animals. Elphaba saved a large band of rebels who were going to be used to open Oz's very first Zoo. To repay her, the animals talked her about an old abandoned house in the mountains. It was sorounded by a large forest and almost no one knew of its egsistance. Elphaba soon found it with the help of her broom (searching for the house from high above proved to be an easy task). It was the perfect hide out. This is where the story takes place.

This is my first story so I hope you enjoy it! Feed back always welcome.

Elphaba stared at the leaky roof and could only sigh. It was the only part of the house that was in any need of repair. Large holes were all over the ceiling and she could see the blue sky through them (that is, apart from the few places Elphaba had managed to block with umbrellas). Elphaba looked down at the pile of tools and materials she had managed to find and was rather happy that it looked like she would have more than enough to repair the roof, her only problem was that she had no real idea how...

Suddenly something crashed through the roof. With a cry of surprise Elphaba pressed herself against the walls with her hand covering her head, hoping none of the roof tiles or pieces of wood would land on her. She looked up. In the centre of the room there was a large pile of rubble and whatever had fallen was probably underneath it. Elphaba nearly jumped out of her green skin when she heard coughing and a very human moan. She looked back at the now huge hole in the ceiling and wondered how one earth a person would have ended up falling through. There were no trees close enough and she didn't understand why anyone would jump through the ceiling instead of just using a door or window. Elphaba started to panic, what if this was one of the many witch hunters searching the land, or worse, one of the guards from the emerald city. Slowly, with her heart in her mouth, Elphaba walked over the pile. She pulled away a log and a few tiles and found an arm. It was covered in a layer of thick, brown fur. Elphaba continued to dig and pulled out a creature unlike any she had ever seen...

It might have looked human, if its whole face and body wasn't covered in soft and thick brown fur. It had large almost cat-like ears and a tail that greatly resembled that of a lion. Its hands, were very big and Elphaba quickly noticed that its arms were probably long enough for it to walk on all fours. It wore a plain white shirt with short sleeves, and pair of shorts and sandals. Elphaba had never heard of such a creature...

The thing had been asleep for about an hour, during which time Elphaba put it in one of the bedrooms and had bandaged its wounds. Much to her amazement none of its bones were broken despite the violent fall. Whatever it was, this creature was clearly very resistant and strong. Even through her fur, Elphaba had not failed to feel and notice hard and wiry muscles. Elphaba had also had the time to stare at it for quite a while. If it had no fur its face would of looked just like that of a human. Suddenly it started to move and Elphaba jumped up and hid behind the curtains. The creature opened its eyes and looked around, visibly confused. It also quickly saw the bandages, it's very human expressions growing even more puzzled and slightly alarmed. It spent a few minutes moving and twisting its arms and body, obviously to see how badly it had been hurt. Elphaba watched, unsure of what to do. Then it rose off the bed and stood on its two hind feet like any human being, and walked straight up to the curtain which Elphaba was hiding behind. Elphaba's heart was pounding so loudly that she was sure that the thing could hear it. Slowly the curtains moved aside. The creature had a amazingly kind expression that could only calm Elphaba down. She didn't feel as scared or threatened anymore. The creature opened its mouth and spoke in some strange language Elphaba had never heard before. Seeing that it wasn't being understood the creature switched to a different language, one even more bizarre than the last one. It tried 8 different languages (without mentioning a 9th that she obviously only knew a few words of) before it stopped talking. Elphaba could see it was rather frustrated by the fact that it couldn't communicate.

"I'm really sorry" said Elphaba, feeling at loss "But I can't understand anything you are trying to say".

Again the creature opened its mouth and much to Elphaba surprise replied "I've never heard your language before"

Elphaba was completely dumbstruck.

"You can understand me?".

The creature tilted its head to the side with a lightly puzzled expression. "Well I can now. Were am I? And who are you?".

The creature had a definitely feminine voice and though it was kind, Elphaba was still recovering from the fact that a furry monster had somehow fallen through her roof, could speak and had learned her language in about 5 seconds. Elphaba could only stutter and was dong a fairly bad job to hide her state of shock. The creature slowly reached over and put a giant furry arm around Elphaba's shoulders, its hand engulfing her shoulder. She slowly lead Elphaba over to the chair next to the bed and sat her down. Noticing a glass of water on the bed side table she handed that to Elphaba as well. Elphaba gratefully sat down and drank the whole glass as the creature sat down on the bed opposite her.

"My name is Maua. I'm from the kingdom of the Amani"

Elphaba had never even heard of such a place. Maua's accent was, strange, however not by any means unpleasant to listen to. Elphaba put down the now empty glass and stared into Maua's eyes. She looked for something she saw in the eyes of everyone she had ever met. She searched for that fear, that look of distrust. She searched for that look that people gave her, the horrible stare that always made her feel excluded and degraded. It wasn't in the eyes she was looking at now. Elphaba couldn't remember if she had ever looked into eyes that stared at her like she was a normal person. Now faced with the situation, she was unsure how she should react.

"My name is Elphaba. and well, I'm from no kingdom".

Maua stared at her for a second, as though not really understanding

"Do you come from a - a - a Republic? Or a... Empire?".

She seemed to have difficulty finding the right words but Elphaba understood what she was trying to ask.

"I have no people" Elphaba replied flatly "I'm on my own".

**Hope that was a good beginning. The second chapter is well underway (just a bit stuck). Please review and tell me what you liked and disliked so I know what to keep and throw out!**

**If you have trouble picturing Maua go on google and search images for: Les Legendaires Gryf. You should get a cartoon characters fitting Maua's general description. However is a bit different.**

**I'll get the next chapter done as fast as I can!**


	2. Magic, Burns and Needles

**Sorry for the wait! Got a bit stuck near the middle... Hope you enjoy the new chapter! Reviews always welcome.**

Elphaba spread out a giant map on the floor and put a book on each corner to keep it flat. Maua stared down at it for a long time. It was a map of all the land known to the people of Oz. Maua was hoping to find out where she was because Elphabas description hadn't helped. Elphaba could see that she wasn't finding anything familiar on the map.

"How did you end up here in the first place?" Elphaba asked

Maua looked up from the map and replied "I had an accident while trying to use magic. I wanted to try a new spell but it was complicated and I ended up doing it all wrong. Instead I accidentally used a teleportation spell. Since it was by mistake I had no control over where I went. I ended up several meters above your roof"

"You can use magic?" asked Elphaba

Maua nodded and started to roll up the map, clearly having given up on finding any familiar land marks.

"Can you?" she asked as she put the map back on the shelf. Elphaba nodded back and Maua clearly seemed interested and asked her what kind.

"What kind?" Elphaba replied "What do you mean by that?"

"I guess your magic could be different from mine... I'll try to explain. Where I come from there are many different ways of doing magic and there are many different forms. It's hard choosing the right words to explain... There are people who specialise in magic potions and chemicals. There are others who detach their souls and conscious from their body and can travel to the spirit world, enter the body of something else and can sometimes control the souls of others. There are endless ways to do magic".

Elphaba found the idea of having her soul controlled by someone else horrifying.

"What magic can you do?" Elphaba asked, praying that she didn't do soul magic. Maua paused for a moment, obviously trying to find the right words.

"I do manipulation. well, I'm not sure what to call it in your language"

"And what does that entail?" asked Elphaba trying to keep fear and suspicion out of her voice.

"An expert manipulator can control wind, water, fire and earth. A manipulator can also sometimes change the shape of and object to use for his or her advantage. A manipulator can also change their own bodies. I'm by no means an expert yet. I've gotten good at controlling wind and water but I'm rarely able to change the shape of objects and I have difficulty changing my own body"

Elphaba was having trouble believing that everything that was happening was in fact real.

"Can Manipulators also learn languages really fast?"

"No, that is called Speed Learning. That is a relatively simple form of magic to learn. As you can guess it helps us learn and remember things we are taught after only being shown once or twice. I took lessons nearly every day with an emphasis on languages. That's why I learned how to speak to you so fast. Anyway, you said you knew magic too. What can you do?"

Though Elphaba didn't think that Maua was dangerous or a potential threat, she didn't trust her fully yet and so decided not to mention the Grimmerie for now.

"I can fly on a broom stick" 

Maua let loose a scream and held Elphabas waist even tighter as the broom stick shot up into the sky. Soon they were soaring high, the house and the woods far behind them. Elphaba levelled out and flew straight. "Open your eyes!" Elphaba shouted over the wind, seeing that Maua had her eyes tight shut. Slowly she opened them and gasped, obviously not believing how high they were. She smiled and let go of Elphabas waist and let out a load whooping laugh. Elphaba smiled and she too let go of the broom with her hands and tried to keep her balance. It didn't seem to occur to either of them that they might fall. If it did occur to them, they didn't care. They were defying gravity and they were having fun. They soon glided back to the house and landed on on of the small balconies. Maua jumped off just before the broom touched the ground.

"THAT WAS SO COOL!" she screamed, bouncing up and down.

"It is fun isn't it?" chuckled Elphaba. Riding her broom had always been amazing and exhilarating, but riding with Maua had made it incredibly fun too.

"Can we go again?" asked Maua, hopping from foot to foot.

"First we have some lunch, I don't know about you but I'm starving. After that you need to show me your powers. Remember we made a deal". Maua nodded and they both went down to the kitchen. 

Elphaba pulled the large bag of rice from one of the many storage cupboards as Maua put a large pot full of water on the stove to boil. Maua suddenly turned to face Elphaba with an excited look on her face.

"I can show you one of my powers now. Just watch". She slowly put her hands above the pot of water and slowly twisted her wrists. Elphaba gasped as the water started to rise out of the pot in a swirling, circular bubble. Maua lifted her hands slowly, bring the ball of water with her. Suddenly a bird landed on the windowsill in front of her. The noise and the quick glance made her loose the careful concentration she had on the water and several ripples shook the ball before it splashed back down into the pot. Water spilled out of the edges and Elphaba let out a cry of pain as a large drop of water landed on her bare foot. With her sharp hearing, Maua heard a faint hissing as she saw Elphabas skin go red where the water had touched her.

"Water burns my skin" Elphaba explained while sitting down on one of the chairs "Don't worry, it looks worse than it is"

Maua kneeled down beside her and with a sharp flick of her wrist, she pulled off the water on Elphabas foot. She then started to gently rub her thumb around the burn. Suddenly she stopped as though she had found something and her thumb slowly started to move up the back of Elphabas leg, as though following a wriggly line. She stopped below Elphabas knee and took a small needle out of her pocket and pricked it into her leg.

"Ouch! What are you doing? Why her you sticking needles into my legs?"

"Does your foot still hurt?"

Elphabas eyes grew wide as she realised that the burn wasn't hurting anymore. Looking down she saw that it was still there, she moved her toes and foot but she didn't feel anything. Maua could only burst out laughing at the look in on Elphabas face.

"How did you do that? Magic?" cried Elphaba, still amazed.

"I found the nerve leading to that part of your foot and merely blocked it with the needle"

Elphabas expression could have only gotten funnier as Maua was soon rolling on the floor laughing. The laugh was infectious and soon Elphaba joined in. It felt so good to laugh. She couldn't remember the last time she had laughed so hard her sides hurt. It had been a feeling that she had missed more than she could say... 


	3. Friends under Stars

**I really hope I got this chapter right. If I did then it will hopefully be moving and a great read. If I failed this then it will all sound horribly cheesy. Review and tell me what you think!**

It was a dark, cold night. Elphaba stood outside on one of the balconies while looking up at the cloudless sky. The moon was nearly full and there the stars were out in their millions. The night was silent and peaceful.

Elphaba would almost always come out on nights like this and gaze up at the stars and the moon. Though it was beautiful, it would often make her feel very small and lonely. However she was always drawn to the night sky. A cold wind was blowing on that night in strong, regular gusts and she was fast becoming cold. Elphaba shivered and was about to turn to go back into the house when a blanket was gently wrapped around her shoulders. Elphaba turned and smiled a thanks to Maua who silently sat down on to rail next to her.

Unknown to Maua, Elphaba appreciated the gesture more than she could imagine. Elphaba had always had to care for herself and often she found herself having to take care of others as well. The simple kindness of wrapping a blanket around her when she was cold gave her a feeling she seldom ever had. The felling that someone was thinking about her and taking care of her too. They sat silently next to each other, neither being able to think of something to say to the other but the silence wasn't and awkward one. Maua started rocking back and forth slowly on the balcony rail and Elphaba noticed she was clutching a large pillow. Maua started to quietly sing a lullaby in her own language, still rocking the pillow back and forth. It struck Elphaba that the way she was hugging the pillow was rather like the way she would hold a small child. When the song ended Elphaba noticed that the fur under Mauas eyes looked damp, or maybe it was a trick of the light.

"What was the song about?"

"The song is saying that however far apart we may be from those we love, we still have the same night sky"

"Will your family be looking up at the moon and stars too?"

"Yes, I suspect my parents and little brother would"

The silence between the two was back. Elphaba decided to ask the question that had been in her mind since Maua had woken up after falling through the roof.

"Why aren't you afraid of me?" Elphaba asked

"Elphaba, what on earth do you mean? Why would I be afraid you?"

"Look at me!" Elphaba realised that she had said that far louder than she had intended. Maua had a slightly shocked look to her face and her ears were set back. For reasons Elphaba couldn't explain, she felt tears threatening to spill. Maua quickly wiped them away with her soft hand. Even after the tears were wiped away Maua kept her very large and soft hand on Elphabas cheek.

"I'm sorry" said Elphaba, leaning her head slightly on Mauas hand "It's just, I can't understand why you don't treat me like everyone else I've always known"

"How has everyone always treated you? Do you want me to treat you like they treated you?"

"NO!" replied Elphaba, once again in a loud voice. Mauas ears were set back once again and her topaz eyes were wide open. It was only then that Elphaba noticed that Mauas pupils were identical to that of cats.

"Almost everyone who has ever known me has always misunderstood me. They never even tried to understand me. Just because I'm green I'm always treated like an outcast!"

For a long time, Elphaba rambled on and on in a way even the most sympathetic people would find annoying. But Maua was different. She saw that all the complaints were endless hurt feelings and resentments that had been bottled up for years. She understood that Elphaba needed to let them all out. So she patiently waited and listened. When she was done, Elphaba felt like a large weight had been lifted off her. However it also felt strange, pouring out all her innermost thoughts and feelings to someone she had just met.

"Sorry, for making you listen to all that"

"No, you needed to get that out of you. Elphaba, there is one thing I don't really understand. Why does you being green matter?"

At first Elphaba was just dumbstruck. Then she realised that she was probably the first human that Maua had ever seen. She had never heard of Mauas people, why should she have heard of hers?

"None one else is green"

"You mean you might be the last of your race?"

Elphaba chuckled at that word. Race. Maybe it was the best word to use in the current situation.

"No, I'm just the only one of my race who is green"

Maua suddenly seemed to understand, nothing that Elphaba had said made sense until she knew that she was the only green person of her race. But then she looked confused again.

"Why is it a bad thing to be different from everyone else? If everyone was the same then everyone would have the same limits and the same weaknesses. When everyone is different then everything is better. Where ever some one has a weakness there is someone who has a strength to help them. When people are different and work together there are no longer limits!"

The passion in her voice was powerful and in a strange way, it made Elphaba feel proud of her difference. Those few but powerful words made all of Oz look very small minded. It also made Elphaba realise that this was probably the kind of believes that Maua had grown up with. How Elphaba wished that she had grown up with them, or that all of Oz had. People would have admired her for her difference, animals wouldn't have been discriminated against and she wouldn't be in the situation she was in.

"I still don't understand why you don't at least think I look strange." Elphaba insisted "I'm a completely different race than you. Doesn't that surprise you?"

"Where I come from, there are _endless_ different types of races. Seeing a new one is never that unusual for me"

Suddenly, an especially cold and strong gust of wind hit the balcony and, despite the blanket, Elphaba shivered. Maua wrapped her long arm around her new friends shoulder.

"Lets go inside" 

**Thanks for reading. Please review and say what you think about Maua and the writing in general. I'm hoping that I will get some good feedback so say what you like and don't like!**


	4. Buckets of Paint

**Nothing much happens in this chapter but I came up with some ideas and I wanted to make a chapter out of them. Hopefully I wrote it right. If I did then it should be funny, if not well it will be boring. Review and tell me which!**

"Maua! Come over here and help me get the paint off the shelves!"

Elphaba tried once more to reach the top shelf to grab the buckets of paint. Maua had found several canvases in one of the spare rooms and they had decided to have a go at painting. While Maua got the canvases ready, Elphaba went into the storage room to try and find paint. The buckets were all unfortunately on the top shelf and were impossible so reach, even with the help of a chair.

Maua bounded in on all fours. She looked up and quickly saw the paint buckets. Even though Maua was shorter than Elphaba, she was very strong and agile. Elphaba had seen her climb trees at a rate that would impress the average monkey. She was sure she would be able to climb up the shelves and bring down the paint.

Seconds after leaving the room Elphaba heard a loud crash. She quickly ran back into the room and instantly saw what must have happened. Maua had tried climbing up the shelves and had probably hoped to lower the paint buckets down with her tail. Unfortunately for her, the shelf with all the paint snapped and she fell back down, paint buckets and all. None of the buckets appeared to have lids...

Elphaba was soon rolling on the floor laughing at the site. Maua was absolutely covered in paint. Her back was a rainbow of green, purple and and bright blue, her tail was hot pink, one of her arms was a navy blue and the other was a fluorescent orange, her stomach was yellow and her legs and head were a colourful mix of all the paints. Maua stood in a pool of colour as Elphaba was trying to get her laughing under control.

"This is going to take _hours_ to clean off!" She whined. This only made Elphaba laugh harder. However when she looked up her friend had a rather mischievous smile on her face. Maua took a very deliberate step towards Elphaba. Elphabas response was to take a very deliberate step back.

"_Don't_ you dare. Don't even think about it"

"I'm thinking about it..."

Elphaba turned and ran as fast as she could. The whole first floor of the house didn't have an inch of carpet but if she made it to the stairs she was sure Maua wouldn't want to ruin the floor in the bedrooms.

However Maua quickly caught up with Elphaba by running on all fours and used her weight to pin her down. She then smeared as much paint as she could onto her green friend. Elphabas struggling only made it worse and she was soon just as covered as Maua. After she let her go it was Mauas turn to have a fit of laughter. Elphaba was a colourful mess. However the smearing and rolling had only made Mauas fur look even worse so Elphaba soon joined in. It took a long time for them to get their laughter under control and for them to head to the bathroom.

Both girls had been in the bathroom for well over an hour. Maua was standing in the bath pouring buckets of water over herself. She hadn't even bothered to take off her clothes. Elphaba was sitting on the floor and was using a ruler to scrape the paint off her body and clothes. When Maua had rinsed as much of the paint off as she could she filled the bath and started to comb the rest out.

"All the paint you smeared into my hair has dried. How on earth am I going to get it out?" Elphaba sighed

"Well at least you don't have fur covering your whole body" Maua pointed out, combing her arms

"Yes well at least you can take a bath and wash it out"

In the end Maua solved the problem by having Elphaba sit in a chair with her back against the sink. Maua then had to wash the paint out while being extremely careful not to let any water touch her scalp.

By the time they were both clean and their clothes were free of paint it was dark and they were both tired. However they still decided that they needed to clean the floor. Elphaba went into the storage room to get a mop and sponge. Suddenly something caught her eye.

"Maua come over here!"

Maua came in, picking off some paint she had missed on her tail. "If you want me to get something off the shelves then you can forget it"

Elphaba pointed to a small cupboard by her feet. Maua crouched down to see what was inside. There were pots of paint... 

**Hope you like this chapter! I know there are no key events but the idea of the paint disaster came to me and I thought I could make a fun little chapter out of it.**

**Reviews always welcome**

**Thanks for reading!**


	5. Green gone Red

**Hello dear readers!**

**Sorry for the wait... I just had very little time and I just couldn't get this story right. Whenever I wrote something it wouldn't sound good or I would make Elphaba go out of character or something. Anyway, I hope this chapter is good. Review and tell me what you think!**

Maua frowned with concentration. She had her hands over a pot of water and was slowly moving and twisting her wrists and arms. Soon bubbles started to rise to the surface of the water, Maua felt the heat rise onto her arms. She sped up her movements and the water was quickly boiling. Maua smiled with satisfaction. She remembered the first time she boiled water the spell drained so much out of her that she collapsed. She giggled as she recalled Elphabas horrified expression as Maua stared into space, blinking heavily and just generally had a very dazed expression.

"Is the water boiled yet?" called Elphaba

"Yep, can you take care of lunch today? There is still a lot of paint on the floors and the bathtub is a colourful rainbow of mess. I thought I would give yet another scrub"

Maua heard Elphaba chuckle as she came into the kitchen carrying a basket full of various ingredients.

"Go on. After lunch I'll help with the halls, there is still paint there to."

Maua grabbed the now rather colourful mop and bucket and went to clean. Elphaba arranged everything on the kitchen counter and carefully picked up the pot. As she turned and tried to step over to the table her feet got tangled and she fell to the tiled floor, her hands falling into the pot.

Maua was just about to start cleaning the bath when she heard a blood curling scream. All her hair shot up on end.

"ELPHABA!"

Maua sprinted back to the kitchen on all fours. She practically smashed the kitchen door off its hinges as she ran in to find her friend sprawled on the floor, sobbing in pain. Parts of her green skin were going red from the water burning her skin.

Elphaba had been burnt by water before, it was always painful, but the water had never been boiling. It was easily twice as worse. She was barely aware of her friend picking her up and feeling around the back of her neck. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her neck and her vision started to fade. She slowly suck into unconsciousness, welcoming it. Once she was asleep her burns wouldn't hurt... 

Elphabas slowly woke up. She opened her eyes and realised she was in her bed. Her hands and arms were bandaged and several needles were blocking the nerves to them to help with the pain. She also had a burn on her shoulder from the spilled water and her tears had burnt her cheeks. Maua had fallen asleep at the end of the bed and was curled up in a small ball, her tail twitching and moving. She was hugging a pillow, her long arms wrapped almost lovingly around it. Elphaba was sure that the pillow was filling in a space that was now empty...

It made Elphaba wonder how long her friend would stay. Maua always said that her people would find her, but she was not the kind of person who would spend a lifetime waiting. Even if her people didn't find her, she would set out and find them. Either way, the day would come when Elphaba would be alone once more, the very thought terrified her.

She thought about all the time they had spent together. On sunny days they explored the woods together, Elphaba would usually be armed with an encyclopedia on plants of the surrounding area and Maua would happily swim in a river or climb trees for hours on end while Elphaba studied. And of course there were the broom rides.

On more rainy days Elphaba often gave reading lessons to Maua so she could read the books in the houses library. They were both useless at any form of art and painting but that never stopped them from having fun. They would happily and playfully insult each others work and the occasional paint fight was always fun. Maua had recently perfected standing on top of door frames and giving Elphaba a good scare when she came through. Elphaba quickly avenged herself by doing the same thing and by using her broom to hold her up.

Thinking back, she realised that she hadn't gone on a raid since Maua fell through her roof. Who knew how many animals had fallen victim to the Wizard. Who knew how many animals lost their voices while Elphaba, the one who had the power to help them and set things right, was just sitting around in a nice house. Elphaba felt horribly guilty as she realised that she had all but forgotten who she was and what situation she was in. Forgetting had just been all too easy, it had felt so good. She didn't feel ashamed of who she was around Maua.

This happy way of living couldn't last much longer. Elphaba needed to go back to being the Wicked Witch who helped rebel animals, and she couldn't get Maua involved. The only way she could stop Maua from trying to help was by not telling her anything about the raids. But that would never work for very long.

"You can't play this pretend game much longer and you know it. You can't lose sight of who you are"

Maua let out a small sign in her sleep and wrapped her arms tighter around the pillow. Elphaba sighed as well, despite having been unconscious for a long time she was still tired. She closed her eyes and went to sleep, too tired to think farther about animals and Maua leaving...

**Thanks for reading!**

**I've been thinking about Maua... I think I need to flaw her character somehow to make her more believable as a person (or whatever she is... well you get the point). I'm not sure how I should flaw her (if I should). Ideas are welcome!**

**Thanks again for reading, make me happy and review! :)**


	6. The Raid

**Hellllloooooooooo!**

**REALLY sorry I haven't updated in a long time! I have actually been really busy :S**

**This was going to be part of one big chapter but since it was taking so long I grabbed the beginning part and made a chapter out of that. Enjoy!**

Elphaba shivered as she flew through a cloud on her broom. She had gotten used to having Maua behind her, keeping her back warm. But this was a broom ride that Maua couldn't come on. Elphaba had decided to go on a raid to save Animals and she had lied to Maua to stop her from getting involved. Elphaba had heard that Madame Morrible had Animal prisoners that she would test magic on. Elphaba shuddered as she remembered the pictures the Animal rebels had shown her. The magic that was tested on these Animals was very unstable and far from being perfected. The prisoners were almost all suffering from a mutilation of some kind and to farther study the effects (and to stop people from finding out about the experiments) the Animals received no medical treatment. The rebels had managed to find the location of the prison but had not been able to find a way in with their limited weapons and manpower. Elphaba had managed to find a hole in the defences and was planning on breaking in and getting the Animals to safety.

\

Maua sat on the balcony watching the small black speck in the sky grow smaller and smaller until it disappeared. She wondered why Elphaba was leaving. Maua didn't believe the various excuses Elphaba had made. She had been acting strange lately. At first, Maua blamed it on the burns, but once they were cured, Elphaba was still wasn't acting normal. Whenever Maua tried to talk to her about it she would just deny everything and hurry off to do something else.

Maybe Elphaba just needed time alone... Whatever it was, it wasn't really any of Mauas business and she didn't have much of a right to pry and nose around where she wasn't wanted. However it still made her feel uneasy...

/

Elphaba flew down onto a balcony and peered into the room through the window. This was Madame Morrible's room. She was almost certainly the one doing experiments on the Animals. The Wizard would only tell a select few of his most trusted sorcerers about this. If one of them were to tell the people of Oz the scandal would be unimaginable. Madame Morrible was defiantly one of the select few. Elphaba still shuddered whenever she remembered Chistery's screams, the day she gave him wings. She also remembered Madame Morrible not looking disturbed in the least by what was happening. If anything she was over joyed with Elphaba's success with the spell.

Madame Morrible was at her book shelf, taking books out and scanning through them. She quickly found what she had been looking for and knelt down to the bottom row of the shelves. She pulled a fake book down and the library shelf moved, revealing a secret passage.

Elphaba waited a few minutes before going inside and pulling down the same book. The library moved and Elphaba started to walk down a long, dark hall. She hadn't gone far before she heard the library door slam shut behind her. She had hardly taken two more steps before she heard a pain filled scream.

**Please review! tell me what you like/don't like and if you give me an awesome idea I'll add it to the story!**


	7. A Lone Broom and a Strange Book

**Hello! I should have been doing chem just now but after 5 min I decided I couldn't be bothered and I finished this chapter up! I'm pretty sure I know how I'm going to write the next chapter but if any of you guys have ideas please review and tell me (well... please review any way, reviews always make my day)!**

Maua sighed peacefully. She was sitting in shade of a large tree by a small river reading. She had enjoyed filling in the hours by reading some of the children books from the house's library. Though she missed Elphaba, her friend's absence had given her time to fully think some things over. Maua remembered Elphaba mention that deserts surrounded all of Oz. The whole of Oz was in fact a giant oasis. Few ever set out in the desert and none had returned. It was widely believed that desert was all that was out there and no other land had water in it. This worried Maua greatly. She was obviously very far from home and a suicidal trek across a possibly endless desert didn't really appeal to her, especially since she wouldn't know which direction to go in. It seemed teliportation was the only way home. This was also a rather disturbing idea. Maua had only done it by accident once when she had first come to Oz. She didn't have much of an idea on how to do it on purpose.

Suddenly she heard the branches of the tree rustle. She looked up in time to see Elphaba's broom zoom over. Maua quickly climbed the tree and poked her head through the branches. She gasped in horror as she saw the broom had no rider. She half scrambled, half threw herself off the tree and the second her feet hit the ground she was sprinting towards the house on all fours.

When she arrived at the house the broom was in Elphaba's room, hovering. Elphaba's bag was hung on it and Maua quickly grabbed it and emptied its contents on the floor, in hope to find some clue to her friend's disappearance. Out fell a large and old looking book and several maps and pieces of paper. Maua spread them on the floor and started to read at a painfully slow pace. Though she knew the alphabet, she hadn't yet gotten used to reading the new language and she was an unfortunately slow reader. The content of the notes and the maps left little to the imagination, this was a raid or a break in of some kind. What for however, was unclear.

Maua turned her attention to the book. Opening it to a random page, Maua soon saw this was no ordinary book. It was in a different language and alphabet than the one Elphaba had taught her. Maua gasped as she realised that that was not the only strange thing about the book. As she moved her eyes along the page the words would change. The letters ans symbols would remain the same only when they Maua's eyes were on them, but, once her eyes moved to a different part of the page they would twist and turn themselves into different phrases and words.

Maua was unsure about what to do. She felt something poke her back and realised it was the broom. As soon as she stood up the broom attempted to scoop her up. Maua kept loosing her balance and falling off.

"Stop it you stupid flying thing! Stop sweeping me of my feet and let me get a grip on you!"

Much to her surprise the broom obediently stopped and hovered next to her, waiting. 'Elphaba must have sent it to get me' thought Maua. But then why would she have sent the book back with the broom? Maybe she wanted to leave it at the house...

Maua looked back at the book. There was something very strange about it. She knew a lot about magic. She had grown up with it. But she had never heard of anything like this book. Maua kneeled down next to it and put her hands above it.

"Come on, you can do this. Are you a manipulator or aren't you?" she quietly willed herself on. She needed to get this spell right. Her hands began to glow gently and the book began to shrink slowly. Maua kept the spell going until the book was the size of thumb nail. Maua picked it up and tucked it into a small pocked hidden in the inside of her shirt. She put the papers back into the bag and climbed onto the broom. It flew out the open window and soared high into the sky.

**Hope you guys like the chapter :)**

**Please review! Even if you think the chapter and the story is crap please tell me that and how I can make it better! (Nice reviews are also really nice)**


	8. Broom ride over Emeralds

**Hey everyone :)**

**Sorry for the wait, I've been pretty busy. But I had time to spare so I quickly typed up this chapter. ENJOY!**

Elphaba sat in a small, dark cell. The cage she was in was one of two in the cold room. If she stood she could just touch the bars over her head. Whether she had been in this prison for minutes or hours she wasn't sure, but the guards had told her that the Wizard was in a meeting and would be informed of her capture once he was no longer busy.

Elphaba was knew she was in a lot of trouble. The Wizard was going to want the Grimmerie. She had put it into her bag and had sent the broom away seconds before the guards had captured her. What worried her was that she hadn't sent it anywhere in particular. She had just ordered it to fly away. What if it landed in the middle of a town? The Witch's broom would be quickly handed over to the Gale Force. It might just fly on forever, never landing.

Elphaba also worried about Maua. What would become of her? Elphaba knew Maua enough to know that she would come and search for her. When she found out that she had been captured she would come to save her. Though smart, Maua had either lived a very sheltered life, or she had grown up in a world that had all the equality and peace that Oz did not. Either way, Maua had a rather innocent, kind and almost pure nature. She didn't know or even think that tyrants like the Wizard egsisted. Someone might kill her, mistaking her for some sort of monster. She wouldn't know who to trust. She wouldn't survive.

/

Maua flew across the night sky on the enchanted broom and gasped when she saw the Emerald City. The whole city glowed green. Lights were everywhere and despite being so high above the city Maua's sharp ears could hear the noise of the night life and her eyes could see the ant sized people below moving around. There was nothing Maua wanted more at that moment than to go down and land. She wanted to explore every street, ally and building. However, no matter how much she tried she could not force the broom to change it's course.

As the broom flew then into a cloud she lost sight of the city and was freed from its spell. She had a friend to get to. This city would have to come later. However no sooner had she thought this, the broom started to fly down wards.

/

Guards swarmed on the balcony. A strange creature on the Wicked Witch's broom was gliding down towards the Wizards palace. It was making no effort to not be seen. The men of the Gale Force held their rifles at the ready as the creature landed in front of them and gracefully dismounted the broom.

"Who are you?" asked one of the Generals stepping forward, not really expecting an answer from this strange monster. He was holding his gun in one hand and it was pointed directly at Maua. His other hand was on the handle of his sword, ready to pull it out of its sheath. Though she didn't know what the gun was, Maua knew what the sword was and the men where making it obvious that they would strike with the slightest provotion.

"Please I mean no harm" Said Maua bowing slightly "I'm just looking for my friend"

"And who may that be?" Asked the General

"She has long black hair and her skin is green. She left our home a few days ago and her broom came back with out her. I think she was sending it back to get me. When I climbed onto the broom it took me here. Do you have any idea where I might find her?"

The General and his men were silent, unsure of how to react. The silence was starting to last an uncomfortably long. Maua felt a bit uneasy and soon broke the silence.

"Your city is really beautiful. while i was flying over there was nothing i wanted more than to land and see it up close. I hope that I will be able to come and explore every inch. You are so lucky to live in such a wonderful place"

Despite themselves, all the guards felt proud and a few even smiled. Her words were very sinsire. The General took a step towards her.

"You are in luck, your friend is here in this very palace. We shall be more than happy to take you to her"

Maua smiled and the General held the door open for her. As she stepped in she heard the swish of something moving quickly through the air and felt a sharp pain on her head. Before she could turn around the ground came to meet her everything became dark... 

**Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. I know what I want to do in the next chapter but ideas are welcome :)**

**Review and tell me what you liked and didn't like.**

**Oh, and if you can think of a better summary than the one I have now please tell me!**


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